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Warren G, Warren Return Regulator

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Title: The Return Of The Regulator
Release date: 12 November, 2001
Record label: Universal
Single:
Official website: Warren G online
Wikipedia: Warren G

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Tracklisting

1. Intro (3:33)
2. Lookin' At You (4:14)
3. Here Comes Another Hit (3:33)
4. Somethin' To Bounce To (3:24)
5. This Gangsta Shit Is Too Much (3:45)
6. Pump Up (1:48)
7. Young Locs Slow Down (4:22)
8. Speed Dreamin' (5:02)
9. Yo' Sassy Ways (3:58)
10. Deez Nuts Pt. II (1:00)
11. It Ain't Nothin' Wrong With U (3:48)
12. Ghetto Village (3:54)
13. They Lovin' Me Now (4:08)
14. Streets of LBC (4:11)
15. G-Funk Is Here 2 Stay (4:25)
16. Keepin' It Strong (5:06)

Warren G: The Return of the Regulator - The Return Of The Regulator

Home » w » Warren G » Album» The Return Of The Regulator

If the endurance of funk has taught us anything it is this: funk will never die. Producer and rapper WARREN G has taken this to heart. Having helped nurture the rise of the West Coast funk in hip-hop music with his hit single, "Regulate" and his subsequent 4x-platinum debut album, Regulate...G-Funk Era, Warren G understands that the funk groundwork from which he has built his career will continue to reap rewards. And so the Long Beach native is back with his fourth album, The Return of the Regulator - which is certain to be Warren's most ubiquitously, appealing album yet.

The Return of the Regulator re-establishes WARREN G's prominence in hip-hop as an all around artist. As a rapper and producer, WARREN knows more than anybody how hip-hop has evolved in the many years since he's been in the game. Yet, his approach to making good music and being successful hasn't changed, and it shows on The Return of the Regulator. "I just listen to the radio and hear what the new thing is," he says. "I still keep it WARREN G, but it's gonna be updated with the times. This time my production has a bigger sound. It's beefier, and my lyrics have really stepped up, too. Together, it's hip-hop with a touch of soul, that rides and makes everything turn out great."

WARREN G burst in to the rap scene in 1994 with "Regulate," an infectious, soulful hip-hop classic featuring Nate Dogg. This iconic entry onto hip-hop's charts helped usher in the "G-funk era" along with classic songs from Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg and Tupac, establishing the West Coast as a major player in hip-hop.

Born Warren Griffin III, WARREN G began rapping and making beats as a youngster living in Long Beach, California. His first group 213 (after the then-area code of the city) which consisted of newcomers WARREN G, Snoop and Nate Dogg. In fact, it was Warren, who noticed Snoop's obvious talent, and introduced the hypnotic MC to his half-brother Dr. Dre. Dre was so impressed with what he heard that he invited WARREN, Snoop and Nate to work with him at his studio and later put them on The Chronic. WARREN got his big break on the 1993 Poetic Justice soundtrack, where he teamed up with fellow West Coast rapper Mista Grimm on the single "Indo Smoke." In 1994, he appeared on the Above The Rim soundtrack with the smash hit single "Regulate" which set WARREN up for the release of his album Regulate...G Funk Era (1994).

Over the course of his career, WARREN G released two more albums, the follow-up Take A Look Over Your Shoulder (1997, double platinum) and I Want It All (1999, platinum). Throughout his career as an artist and a producer for various artists including Eastsidaz "Big Bang Theory" (featuring Xzibit and Snoop Dogg), Redman's "Pick It Up" and Tupac's "Definition Of A Thug N*gga," WARREN has become known for a distinctive funk sound: clean, crisp and possessing both big thumps and soulful swoons. It's an aesthetic he develops using the usual tools of the studio as well as directing a band of live musicians. "I like to use a band because it gives you a real soulful feeling. If it's tight, I get goose bumps. I can't explain it," says the artist.

Those "goose-bumps" carried over into The Return of the Regulator. WARREN G began recording the album early this year at his home studio in Long Beach. "Once I get an idea in my head, I call up my musicians and do some tracks," he says. "That was the start, and I just pieced it together from there." The demos from those sessions drew heavy interest from a variety of different labels all attracted to WARREN G's newly minted sound, with Universal Records ending up the victor.

The "G-funk era" WARREN G helped perpetuate went on to influence everything from the bump of the Dirty South to the swagger of the Midwest. On The Return of the Regulator, WARREN plays on that universal funk sound, while still working with some of his people from back in the day. Produced by Dr. Dre, the album's lead single is the smooth head-nodder "Lookin' At You." The song features up-and-coming R&B singer Toi who complements WARREN's effortless, conversational flow. The majority of the album's other tracks were produced by WARREN G himself. On the party jam, "Speed Dreaming," he got to work with one of his personal heroes, George Clinton. "It was amazing," he beams. "He's one of the reasons I'm doing what I'm doing so it was great to work with him on that song. He coached me a lot on arranging songs - and on that track you'll actually hear the arrangement skills he taught me."

Recording The Return of the Regulator was somewhat of a triumph for WARREN G. He was having professional and financial trouble as a result of a previous record deal, "The label didn't understand the type of artist I was and the relationship didn't work," he says diplomatically. More significantly, WARREN had some personal tragedies, such as the deaths of his mother and his grandfather. "Keepin' It Strong," a heartening song that features El DeBarge was recorded as a tribute to his mother. He cites it as one of the most important songs on the album. "I wanted people to feel my pain out there. A lot of people act crazy towards their mothers and then when you lose them, they be trippin'. I want them to learn to respect and love their mothers while they still have them."

Aside from the first single WARREN G also worked with some of his other Southern California folks. "Yo Sassy Ways" is dubbed a 213 reunion, wrangling together Warren G, Snoop Dogg and Nate Dogg on a mellow, old-soul cut as they each fete the styles of their favorite females. Nate Dogg also lends his soul-stirring vocals to the punchy "Here Comes Another Hit," where WARREN G unveils a quick-tongued rhyming flow, this track also features the vocals of Mista Grimm. Another Los Angeles peer, WC (of Westside Connection) pops in on "Young Locs Slow Down," a powerful song warning today's youth about the less glamorous side of gang life.

WARREN likes that The Return of the Regulator displays some shades of those earlier days. "I miss those days when we're all chillin' together," he recalls. "But now when we get together, it's like magic."

With The Return of the Regulator it is apparent that both WARREN G and his particular brand "G-funk" are here to stay.

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